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An appeals court revived part of a lawsuit involving Ferguson rioters on Tuesday, August 1.

The initial lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 people, and claimed that St. Louis police officers used excessive force in breaking up the Ferguson riots, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. U.S. Judge Henry Autrey had granted summary judgment to police, police officials, St. Louis County, and the city of Ferguson in October, 2016.

In his ruling, Judge Autrey said that police officers gave repeated warnings before making arrests, and that many of the claims did not have evidence backing them up, such as videos or testimony. He ruled that police actions had not been taken “in bad faith”.

But on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Autrey’s ruling. They said that the claims of one individual, Dwayne A. Matthews, Jr., should be decided by a jury. Matthews claimed that he was held underwater, sprayed with pepper spray, and beaten by St. Louis County police officers.

The panel ruled that if Matthews’ claims were proven to be true, it would represent “unreasonable, excessive force”. In the previous ruling from Judge Autrey, he said that Matthews’ claims of injuries were contradicted by medical records

Is there such a crime as "unreasonable excessive force" against burning a private business ?